Headline: Insight, History and Highlights From the U.S. Open Championship
For Immediate Release: May 9, 2016
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| History abounds when it comes to the U.S. Open Championship |
Norton, MA — The following is a summary of the history and highlights from the U.S. Open Championship, compiled by Drew Rosen, the MGA's USGA P.J. Boatwright Jr. Intern. The 116th edition of this USGA Championship Proper will be held on June 16-19 at Oakmont Country Club (PA).
Between May 2 and May 19, thousands of golfers will tee it up on what they hope is the start of their journey to the 116th U.S. Open Championship, June 16-19 at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh. This year, 111 U.S. sites will host 18-hole local qualifying, with nearly 600 players advancing to sectional qualifying.
Oakmont has hosted the U.S. Open eight times, more than any other course. It has also hosted three PGA Championships, five U.S. Amateurs, three NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, and two U.S. Women's Opens. In total championships hosted (21), it also far outranks any other course. The course has been consistently ranked as one of the five best by Golf Digest 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America. In 2007 Oakmont was placed in 5th by the magazine.
Quotes about Oakmont
Tiger Woods: "That golf course is going to be one of the toughest tests that we've ever played in a U.S. Open, especially if it's dry, it will be unreal because those greens are so severe”.
Arnold Palmer: "You can hit 72 greens in regulation in the Open at Oakmont and not come close to winning."
Rocco Mediate said of the greens that they are "almost impossible"
Sam Snead once commented that he tried to mark his ball on one of Oakmont's greens but the coin slid off.
Lee Trevino claimed every time he two-putted at Oakmont he knew he was passing somebody on the leaderboard.
1913- Considered to be the most important victory in American golf, 20- year old Francis Ouimet won the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, MA.
1927- Tommy Armour of Scotland won an U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club by birding the 72nd hole to force an 18 hole playoff against Harry Cooper.
1930- Bob Jones drained a 40 foot putt to capture the U.S. Open against MacDonald Smith. He captured the Grand Slam winning the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, the British Amateur, and the British Open.
1935- In one of the greatest upsets in U.S. Open history, Sam Parks Jr. pulled off a stunning two stroke victory over Jimmy Thomson.
1939- Byron Nelson captured the U.S. Open which required 108 holes of golf at Philadelphia Country Club.
1947- In a bizarre turn of events, USGA’s Ike Grainger had to use a ruler to determine who was away on the 18th hole, Sam Snead of Lew Worsham. Sam Snead missed his put to fall to Worsham by a stroke.
1948- Ben Hogan captured the U.S. Open with a two stroke victory over Jimmy Demaret at Riveria Country Club, known as Hogan’s Alley.
1950- Ben Hogan captured the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club winning in a playoff beating Lloyd Mangrum by four strokes and George Fazio by six strokes.
1953- Ben Hogan outlasted Sam Snead winning is fourth and final U.S. Open, in a year where he captures all three major championships he entered.
1955- Jack Fleck held the U.S. Open trophy after winning in a playoff against Ben Hogan at The Olympic Club. Many people believed Fleck would crumple but Hogan doubled 18 giving Fleck the victory.
1960- Arnold Palmer shot a 65 on the last round capturing the U.S. Open victory over 20 year-old amateur Jack Nicklaus.
1962- As Arnold Palmer was the crowd favorite, Jack Nicklaus out-dueled him in front of 10,000 spectators at Oakmont Country Club.
1964- Ken Venturi was advised by a doctor to withdraw due to dehydration, won the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club with a four shot victory.
1965- After erasing a three stroke cushion at Bellerive Country Club, it took a playoff for Gary Player to defeat Kel Nagle.
1968- Lee Trevino shot an impressive four rounds in the 60’s, defeating Jack Nicklaus at Oak Hill Country Club, capturing his first of six major championships.
1971- Lee Trevino defeated Jack Nicklaus by three strokes at Merion Golf Club. Lee remembered that his daughter left a toy snake in his golf bag so he decided to throw it at Jack, getting a couple screams from Jack and the crowd.
1972- Jack Nicklaus coming fresh off a Masters victory, captured the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Standing on the par 3 17th, Jack hit the flag stick with his one iron, with a tap in birdie putt to seal the deal.
1973- 26 year-old Johnny Miller fired a 63 on the last round to capture the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Miller’s 63 set an U.S. Open 18 hole scoring record.
1976- At 22 years old, Jerry Pate captured the U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club while John Mahaffey found the water on the 18th giving Jerry the victory.
1979- A final-round 75 was good enough for Hale Irwin to post a two-stroke win over fellow U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate and Gary Player at Inverness Club.
1980— Jack Nicklaus registered his fourth and final U.S. Open victory by outdueling Isao Aoki, whom he was paired with for all four rounds.
1982— Jack Nicklaus was looking for a record fifth U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach, but Tom Watson, like he did at the 1977 British Open at Turnberry, out-dueled his rival.
1983- Larry Nelson played the final 36 holes at 10 under par, a record that still stands, to edge defending champion Tom Watson by a stroke at Oakmont Country Club.
1984- Fuzzy Zoeller fired a 67 in a playoff to beat Greg Norman at Winged Foot by eight strokes. After Norman holed a long par putt, Fuzzy waved his towel, many think he was surrendering, but he claims it was just a nice gesture.
1986- Raymond Floyd became the oldest (43) to win the U.S. Open. He defeated Lanny Wadkins and Chip Beck at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club by two strokes.
1989- Curtis Strange captured the U.S. Open title at Oak Hill Country Club. He was the last one to win back to back U.S. Open titles since Ben Hogan did so in 1951.
1990-Hale Irwin trailed by four strokes entering the final round, but he carded a 5-under 31 on the back nine that included a 45-footer for birdie at the last. The putt sent the crowd, and Irwin, into a frenzy, and he went on to defeat Mike Donald in a playoff the following day.
1991-Payne Stewart thwarted Scott Simpson’s bid for a second U.S. Open title by gaining four strokes over the final three holes of their 18-hole playoff at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
1992— Blustery conditions at Pebble Beach took over the championship and sent scores into the stratosphere. Third-round leader Tom Kite was able to hold on and win the U.S. Open.
1994— Ernie Els, 24, of South Africa became the youngest U.S. Open champion in nearly two decades, edging Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a playoff at Oakmont Country Club.
1995—Corey Pavin won the U.S. Open with a final-round 68, as Greg Norman and Tom Lehman faltered down the stretch.
1999— The final round at Pinehurst No. 2 began with Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Payne Stewart all in contention. Mickelson's presence was magnified by the fact that his wife, Amy, was due to give birth to the couple's first child at any moment. At 18, Stewart faced a 15-foot par putt for the win, which he calmly holed winning the championship.
2000- Tiger Woods shot an 12 under par winning the U.S. open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes. Woods dominated from start to finish, with his last 26 holes bogey free.
2002-Tiger Woods took the lead in the first round of the 2002 U.S. Open on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park and never looked back, withstanding Phil Mickelson’s weekend charge to notch a three-stroke victory for his second U.S. Open title.
2004— Retief Goosen entered Sunday looking to add his name to the U.S. Open Trophy for a second time. The 2001 champion relied on his short game in the final round, one-putting 11 greens on his way to a 71 and a two-stroke victory over Mickelson.
2007- With a pair of U.S. Open champions breathing down his neck, Angel Cabrera, 37, of Argentina, held off world No. 1 Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a single stroke to become the first South American to claim the title.
2008— Tiger Woods converted a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to tie Rocco Mediate and force an 18-hole playoff the following day, which he would win on the first extra hole. This is considered to be one of the most dramatic championship weeks in U.S. Open history.
2009- Lucas Glover captured the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park. A clutch approach shot on No. 16 led to a birdie, propelling him to a two-shot win over Ricky Barnes, David Duval and Phil Mickelson.
2011- At 22 years old, Rory McIlroy became the youngest to win the U.S. Open Championship since Bob Jones in 1923. He opened the tournament by shooting a round 1 65 and round 2 66.
2012- Webb Simpson held on by a needle by defeating Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson at The Olympic Club.
2015- Jordan Spieth captured the U.S. open becoming the youngest to win the U.S. Open at only 21 years of age. He also became the youngest player to win two major tournaments since Gene Sarazan in 1922.
